Staying 3 nights in Venice.

I would not hesitate to stay there. The Hotel Serenissima is about as perfectly central as you can get, on the direct route between the Rialto bridge and Piazza San Marco and about equi-distant between the vaporetto stops at those two locations. It has been used quite a bit by our tour groups.

We stayed at the Serenissima Hotel during our RS Best of Italy tour several years ago. The location was central. I will also recommend Hotel Ala. We stayed there during our last trip to Venice two years ago. The hotel was very nice, and it's very handy to take the vaporetto to the San Maria del Giglio stop and not need to cross any bridges with your luggage. Hotel Ala is also very close to the opera house, Teatro La Fenice. We saw during our stay that RS tours were using that hotel, also.

One question - do you need an elevator? Most hotels don't have rooms on the ground floor and many don't have elevators. If you need one, check details with the hotels you are considering for your trip.

Enjoy your time in Venice - such a wonderful city!

Thank you both so much for the information. We booked with Hotel Serenissima for our 3 day stay in Venice. They have a porter that will help with our bags if needed.

We will now be looking at places to stay in Florence and Rome. Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Do you folks think it is too early to look at getting train tickets from Venice to Florence to Rome?

We stayed at Hotel Serenissima for two nights in 2015, and enjoyed our stay. Very friendly staff with a matriarch ('Mama') who dotes on guests over breakfast, making sure everything is to their liking. The property's location is situated about a ten-minute walk to either San Marco or the Rialto Bridge (in opposite directions), which was great for convenience as well as being fairly quiet at night. If you like gelato (who doesn't?), the best we've ever had is in an alley, along the walk to Rialto, called Suso.

From what I have read in other posts, the train schedules get updated June 10, so its not possible to book beyond then just yet.

Love all these positive replies. I also stayed there on RS tour and agree that
it is perfect for all the reasons listed.
Happy Travels

We have stayed in Hotel Abruzzi in Rome and really enjoyed the location. It is on the Piazza della Rotunda
right in front of the Pantheon. I specified when making the reservation directly with them that I wanted a room with windows looking onto the Pantheon and the Piazza. The windows kept the noise out, but I really liked watching the people in the piazza at all hours. They do have a small elevator. Our room had a small bathroom with standup shower which was fine with us. For breakfast each morning we received a chit for breakfast at a cafe right across the piazza. It was fine and they had a good cappuccino.

We walked from there to the Vatican. The hotel is between Piazza Navona and the Trevi Fountain, but we walked to the Colosseum and Forum, Spanish Steps and even to the Borghese Museum.

On different trips we have stayed at the Hotel Lancelot twice and liked it a lot, also. It is just south of the Colosseum so further from some of the sights. There is a metro stop a few blocks away, but again we walked even to the Vatican and back. Lancelot has an excellent staff, nice rooms and great breakfast in what looks like a formal dining room. Very nice hotel. you can check the locations and see if one of these would work for you. By the way, we are 70 and 69, not youngsters.

Have a Great trip!
Mimi

The train tickets for October are now showing on Trenitalia ‘s website. I just bought my train tickets for my trip yesterday and able to secure several Super Economy priced ones before those prices were sold out.

Thanks to all for all the great info.

Mimi, we will be 71 & 72 in Sept. so were really glad to see your post. We will be checking those hotels that you mentioned. We are putting together a list of places to visit in Florence and Rome, and whether to spend 3 or 4 days in each city. I should have it posted sometime this afternoon. Needless to say, I will be asking the very helpful folks on the Travel Forum for guidance.

Look into monastery and convent stays in both of those cities. They are inexpensive, centrally located, and most serve breakfast. Many also have elevators. It is usually a simple yet comfortable room, with private bath. Some as low as 25-30 euro apiece. I have done this both times I have been in Italy and been very happy with my stay at each of the locations. Agriturismos are also great, but often out of city area, so likely need a car

following on Mimi's post re Pantheon location, taxi stand is right next to the Pantheon, we love that. We last stayed at the Albergo Del Senato with a room facing the Pantheon. Windows did keep the noise out. Liked the ease of walking to the Trevi Fountain from this location, caught a gelato on the way back. Regardless of the hotel you chose, we liked this location enough to return this Oct.

We also stayed at the Albergo Del Senato in Rome, It was a great location, plenty of restaurants and walking distance to lots of sites. Can't say enough about the staff and location!

hey ed & evelyn
you'll have a great time in venice, been there three times. pack light, you don't wanna carry heavy bags, if hotel/apartment you stay in has many stairs or lift/elevator. in venice you may want to look at shared water taxi from airport, great way to get to hotel. ask your hotel. be cautious of vaporetto if its crowded, carry luggage on or how many bridges and steps to your hotel. make it easy on yourself. walk around, get lost (an adventure), paople watch, stop for a glass of wine, walk to canarreggio, a gondola in the back canals. we scheduled one with luckyluca6@hotmail.com and he sings, a pub crawl (cicchetti) with alessandro (schezzini.it) learn about venice and have appetizers and wine along the way. stop at bacaro jazz club for another glass, famous for their wall and ceilings with "donated" bras hanging. walk to rialto market. took a ride to burano, cute island famous for lace and pastel colored houses.
check booking.com for hotels to stay.
one in florence is casa rabatti (san zanobi), ground floor with a washer. take a pod, wash clothes in evening, hang up to dry for next day or find a laundormat nearby. if you want, eatinitaly.com has food tours in florence and rome to check out. reserve your places you want to see early, you can also look at mybesttour.com if your "paws" are tired. we stayed near piazza navona, saw a lot there, walked to campo de fiori, stop by the piazza, (farmers market, shops, bakeries, entertainers) across bridge to trastevere. walk around restaurants, shops, churches. marketsofrome.com. you will get different ideas from the forum. just have fun and enjoy.
aloha